


Be their hero

by Xycuro



Series: Vitriol AU Drabbles [3]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Alternative universe: Vitriol AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 12:44:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9072244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xycuro/pseuds/Xycuro
Summary: Amity Park still misses their beloved hero, yet they are grateful for the ones they've gained.





	1. Typical day in Amity

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt used here was the child with the stuffed animal.

The recent attacks have gotten worse than last week's. However, its nothing that the hero can't handle.

  
  
_Hero_

  
  
It's still such a foreign title to the Spirit of Amity, or also known as Plasmius.

  
  
Daniel was gone, taking the older man's former title as the villain. He couldn't return to Amity and even if he did, the young man wouldn't hesitate to cause some mischief and property damage. It was up to Plasmius to be the hero and keep Amity Park in order and safety again.  
Vlad felt a sense of guilt as he made shift various portals and sent each ghost he encountered into the Ghost Zone. Those memories of Daniel being in so much emotional pain, before it turned into hatred and bitterness, plagued the boy into a darker side.  
  
That guilt was always going to be there for who knows how long. It's all his fault the honorable Danny Phantom turned into the vicious Poltergeist.  
  
More and more ghosts were phasing through the walls and peering from the ground, hissing and groaning as they attacked at the floating spirit. Some of them slithered around to terrorize the screaming citizens. Vlad was tangled in with a large ghost cobra, wrestling and grappling at its green scales.

  
  
Suddenly the screaming stopped.

  
  
The other ghosts that were harassing the pedestrians were immediately sucked away by a thin, blue vortex that led to a replica of the Fenton Thermos.  
"Gotcha!" Came a triumph from the captor as she sealed the thermos tight and waved over at Plasmius.  
  
"Don't worry Dad, I got it from here!"  
  
With a sigh of relief, Vlad watched from the corner of his eye as Dani flew out over to another group of ghosts near city hall, hands glowing with a deadly neon green.  
"You be careful, Danielle!" Vlad shouted over the loud hissing from the cobra as he pinned him down with both hands over the neck. He had to press deep into the underscales to keep it still.  
The spectral reptilian lashed out a nasty forked tongue, it's fangs shifting positions to spew out acidic venom.  
  
Reaction was timed perfectly as Vlad dodged the spray and planted his boot down on the creature. His fingers flickered in a soft glow, trying to open up a large portal to send the snake back.

  
  
Unfortunately, a misbalance struck around his footing and the ghost cobra pushed Plasmius off. The creature lifted itself from its position and as Vlad was about to regain himself, the ghost whacked him with its tail, sending him straight into a nearby wall.  
  
Most of the ghosts were captured and sent back thanks to Dani, but the ghost cobra was still on the loose.  
  
The snake lunged out towards a group of civilians, destroying sidewalks and disturbing cars from their dormant states. People screamed in terror, seeing the large reptilian as it sprayed more acidic venom.  
Dani rushed over to Plasmius, helping him through the debris. Pushing away brick and broken concrete, Vlad held his head.  
  
"Dad! You okay? That snake thing...its tearing up town central!"  
  
"I'm fine, my head is just-wait town central?! Butter biscuits! That's a highly populated area. Come, we have to stop it before it hurts someone!"  
  
Vlad shook his head, dusting off some dirt from his horns and flew up. Dani followed beside him and tried feeding off some ecto blasts behind the creature.  
  
"Danielle, you need to evacuate the civilains. I'll take care of this unwelcomed guest."

  
  
Plasmius rushed in, dodging the snake's tail this time as he sent off a few blasts of his own. Rays of magenta hit the spectral monster against the sides, giving out an unsatisfied hiss.  
It sprayed out more acid onto the ground and sidewalks, some small buildings crumpling from the drops of splash damage.  
Everyone around the area gathered their families and ran.  
With Dani's help, she sent off a few barriers to prevent the acid from hitting the citizens and evacuated them as quickly as possible.

  
  
_"My baby! My little Jacob, I can't find him!"_

  
  
Dani heard the shouts of a frantic mother, desperate to find her son. The young halfa rushed over, noticing the woman looking over at a building that's about to break down around an alleyway.   
  
"I'll find him, I promise!"

  
  
Dani shouted over the comotion, sending off a couple of duplicates of herself before flying over to the building. Assuming that this is where the child must be, the young teen looked around, pushing debris and being careful. She turned around to check on how her father was doing, noticing that the ghost cobra was being tougher than before.  
The creature was sending off more attacks towards Plasmius, the spirit having to shield himself with a purple ecto barrier. Acid flew everywhere in their battle, and Plasmius did everything in his power to prevent further property damage.

  
  
"Jacob! Jacob where are you??"  
  
Dani called out, phasing through the building carefully to find no resistant inside. She slipped out, just on the other side to hear soft crying.  
  
"Jacob?"  
  
The halfa flew where she heard the crying and notice a small child curled up in a corner. She noticed he was holding a plushie of a panda bear.  
As the ground shook from the weight of the cobra being plummeted to the ground, the child clung to the stuff animal for protection, squeezing his eyes shut as he did. Dani noticed the cobra was finally defeated, her father creating a portal as he lifted the large reptilian into it.  
  
"Hey hey, Jacob, it's okay, everything's gonna be okay."  
  
The child looked up, startled at first, but relaxed at the sight of an oddly familiar figure floating before him.

  
  
"P-Phantom?"

  
  
Dani smiled softly, shaking her head slightly. "Yes, but Dani Phantom, with an I." She cleared up, knowing who the kid was originally referring to. "I'm here to help."  
  
"W-Wheres the other Phantom? The boy one?"  
  
She gave him a sad smile.  
  
She knows what happened to her cousin, and it'd be too much to let the kid know the truth, seeing how his face lit up at the mention of Danny. The boy sounded genuinely curious, in fact, concerned.  
  
"He's...not here right now."  
  
"When is he coming back?"  
  
Dani smile wavered slightly, kneeling down at the child to push off some debris.

  
  
"I don't know..." She paused, looking at the little boy and his stuffed animal before answering. She can't bring him down. Not like this.  
  
"I do know he'll come back soon.....just don't know when."

  
  
_Back to his senses_ , her mind whispered.

  
  
Dani offered a hand to the child, the boy taking it reluctantly. The halfa lifted the little one off the ground and flew right out of the alleyway. The building shook slightly as pieces of it fell, landing on the road. Some of the civilains were still making their way towards an area to evacuate, due to the damage, and luckily Dani was able to spot out the boy's mother.  
  
"Jacob!" The mother cried out, joy and relief surged within her. She hugged her son tightly, soothing out the soft sobs from the little one before turning her gaze to Dani. "Thank you...thank you so much!"  
  
The ghost teen offered a smile as her clones from earlier disappeared.  
"Always happy to help."

  
  
After the evacuation, Plasmius helped directed where most of the damage was done. His cape was slightly torn, hair a bit ragged and scratches were shown, but other than that, the older halfa was fine.  
Dani and him disappeared without notice, about to fly back to their home before Vlad stopped to worry.  
  
"Are you alright Danielle? Any cuts? Bruises? Severe injuries?"  
  
Dani chuckled at her father's worries.  
"Dad, I'm fine. A few scratches here and there but I'm okay! I'm not a kid anymore you know."  
  
Vlad sighed, brushing off some dust and adjusting his ponytail.  
"I know, I know. Can't help but to worry about you, dear." He pauses for a moment before facing her.  
"You did so well helping the people escape to safety. Especially risking yourself to save that young boy. I'm very proud of you." He offered a smile, remembering that he noticed his daughter fly off from a distressed mother, his assumption correct when she came out with a child in her arms.  
  
Dani smiled at her father's praise, but waved her hand. "It was fine. Everything worked out....." She trailed off, remembering how the boy was expecting her cousin to save him rather than herself.  
  
She has a feeling not only does Jacob miss Danny, but maybe more children, hell, most of Amity Park's residents must miss their Phantom.

  
  
"Danielle? Something the matter?"  
  
"...When is he coming back?"

  
  
Vlad paused, looking at Dani with an incredulous look. However, it fades aways once he realizes who she's referring to. He walked closer to the younger halfa, noticing how her shoulders slumped and expression turned depressed.  
  
"I...I don't know. I don't think Daniel will ever come back."  
  
"I've seen him come around here before. I've sensed him around." Dani snapped back, looking over at her father with a half glare. "You know he comes here. Just not as Phantom."  
  
Vlad shook his head, sighing softly as he placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder, squeezing softly.  
  
"Danielle...sweetheart, I know you miss him, but he's...he's not well. He's not Phantom anymore."  
  
She scoffed, shrugging his hand off her shoulder, folding her arms as she stared at him. "No, he's still in there. The Danny I know wouldn't stick with being someone so cruel."  
Dani is fully aware of what happened.  
She knows the day when Vlad and Danny had an all out brawl with each other in some abandoned area which ended up with them turning into what they are now. She recognizes that Danny took the title of villain and wants to wreak havoc on anything in his way.  
However, she refused to believe her cousin could just turn his back on his own home just like that.  
  
"Danielle, I've seen him with my own eyes turn against us! After he turned into the wicked specter he is now, all he wanted was for us to suffer-"  
  
"You mean YOU. He wants YOU to suffer. Danny blames you for all of this, I know he does." The young teen retorted, her arms still folded tightly.  
She has memories of seeing some glimpses of what her cousin was. He was known throughout the Ghost Zone as Poltergeist as she wondered why the name, until she caught an image of what he looked like now. Then the name made perfect sense.

  
  
She saw a look of hurt on the older halfa's face. She sighed softly.  
  
"I don't blame you for what happened, Dad, I'm not saying it's your fault. But you and I know that Danny can't just easily turn evil just like that!"  
  
"He did. Not only did Daniel wanted to, but he had no other choice."  
  
"What does that even mean-"  
  
"Enough."  
  
Vlad waved a hand, holding it as a signal to end the conversation.  
"I don't want to continue this discussion."  
  
"But I do! Did you even notice how that kid looked at me? He wasn't expecting me to rescue him! He was expecting Danny to save him!" Dani cut him off, signalling the ruined town central with motions.  
"They were all expecting Phantom to save them! Not us!"

  
  
_"They can't expect him to save them because Phantom isn't the **hero** anymore!"_

  
  
Vlad replied, his voice raising in volume from the argument they broke out. His eyes widened as he noticed his tone, lowering it softly as if he were shrinking back.  
  
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to raise my voice at you, but it is what it is, Danielle. Your cousin is not the hero anymore. These people, the citizens of Amity, don't realize that. Their children don't realize that. They couldn't understand even if we explained it."  
  
The tension that Dani held in her shoulders was slowly melting away. She fiddled with her hair slightly, a small habit she developed when she couldn't find another response.  
Everyone expected Phantom to save the day. Jacob expected Phantom to save him.  
  
Yet they were still grateful.  
  
Despite their expectations, someone came to save them. Plasmius and Dani Phantom came to save them instead, and they still cheered. Jacob's mother looked at Dani as it she were some guardian angel, tears of joy in her eyes.  
  
"I know..." Dani started, slowly murmuring. "I just...I don't want him to be Poltergeist, I want him to be Danny again. I miss him so much..."  
  
Vlad frowned, going over to his daughter and giving her a small hug. "I know sweetheart, I miss him too. I'll do everything I can to bring him back. Amity Park will have their Phantom again...but for now-" He looked over at Dani and brushed out a strain of white hair from her face.

  
  
"You'll have to be their Phantom in his absence."

  
Dani smiled softly, looking up at her father.  
"And you'll have to be their hero too."

  
  
Vlad chuckled softly, the hug breaking slowly as they both took flight.  
  
"We both need a good rest after this." He began to take off. "Come, let's go home."

  
  
The young teen nodded, following her father as they headed home. She hoped that both Jacob and Danny will be okay.


	2. Expected visitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the damages done by the ghost cobra, Vlad sits in his office while awaiting an unwelcoming guest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three word prompt, using the words Money Malleable and Myth.

 

"I know it's due but I'll make sure it'll all be transfer before next week. Thank you."

  
  
The phone call ended just like that, and Mayor Masters sighed, going over to his chair and plopping himself down. His fingers rubbed his temples as he leaned forward on the desk.  
  
The damage that was done around town central was already reaching towards their debt. The citizens that lived in Amity were truly generous people as they tried to donate any money they can to fix the sociable area.  
The older halfa was grateful for their efforts, and now it's his turn to put in the remaining money to cover everything.

  
  
Outside the window, the sun was slowly setting, and an uneasy feeling started to make its presence.

  
  
Vlad has a feeling _he_ might show up.

  
  
A press of a button on the speaker dial and the man leaned in.  
"Joanna, please cancel my appointment for tonight."  
  
_"Of course Mayor Masters."_

  
  
The woman's voice was cut off, Vlad making sure that whoever was working around the office was already heading home. He's been feeling his gut warning him about _his_ arrival, so he announced to his staff to go home early.  
  
The mayor knows he will find him here first.  
  
The sun continued to set, until the sky was slowly melting the warm colors of red, orange, and yellow into the common cool colors of blue and purple.  
  
The moonlight was one of the only things keeping light through the glass.  
Alongside it, a small lamp light and the fire place at the side gave some sort of warmth in the room.  
  
Vlad finished a couple of paper, thoughts intruding his silent mind as he places them in folders.

  
  
When he was much younger, he used to believe in the common myth that ghosts only appear at night.  
They hide away in the meek shadows of day, and once the sun slept, they come out and haunt in darkness.  
Of course, as he got older and slightly more enthusiastic, Vlad disclosed the old myth after witnessing first hand how spirits can even roam during the day. Thinking about the abandoned folklore brought him back to where he was now, sitting patiently for the unwelcomed guest.

  
  
As if on time, the flames that sat in the fire saturated into an eerie green and danced more furiously against the metal. The familiar red smoke that escaped the older halfa's lips were shown, and Vlad waited patiently for his guest to show himself.  
  
Out from the floor, dark smog bursted through and swirled around, two green chains escaping from its twister. The lighting from the green fireplace shown out throughout the room, highlighting it completely.  
  
The darkness flushed out and dispersed, revealing the arrival of the one and only Poltergeist. Green eyes glowing wickedly that made the verte lining, shoulder studs, and neck shackle pop out more.

  
  
Vlad stared at him, keeping a stone hard expression. No emotion passing thought at all.

  
  
" _What?_ You didn't enjoy the grand entrance? I thought it would look absolutely divine if I put a little more effort in it."  
  
Poltergeist grinned, fangs peeking out as Vlad still sat there, a blank look on his face.

  
  
"It's nice to see you too, Daniel."

  
  
The shadow ghost hissed at the name, annoyed that the older halfa insists on using. His eyes narrowed over to one of the windows, seeing from the distance the construction vehicles from town central being vacant.  
  
"Sooo...I see that you've been busy cleaning up the mess you've caused." Poltergeist replied, walking casually over to a book shelf and tracing a claw over each label lazily.  
"What was it this time? Ghost wolf? Snake? Hydra?" He asked calmly.  
  
"A ghost snake; Cobra, actually. It wasn't much of a problem other than keeping up with the other ghosts reeking havoc." Vlad grunted, standing up from his spot, his core burning and aching for him to shift into his ghost form.  
  
Poltergeist looked over at Vlad and shook his head, giving off a scoff.  
"That creature is too stubborn to be warded off."  
  
His expression slowly turned back into a mischievous one, looking over at the mayor. "Then again, so am I."

  
  
"Why are you here? At this time and place?"

  
  
Poltergeist shrugged, placing the book he pulled out back to its original spot.  
He fully turned around and walked over to the desk, his gaze cold and taunting.  
  
"Why, I just came to visit as always. I have to do my weekly Amity visits. Plus, it's always so good to see you, _Fruitloop_." The sarcasm was like a bite of a snake, bad enough the shadow ghost had to slip out a forked tongue from the hiss.  
  
Vlad gave off a scowl, already feeling himself slowly trying to shift at any second.  
  
"I know you by now, Daniel. You're not here just to visit and tour around. You're here to cause more damage than it already is."  
  
Poltergeist chuckled softly, a green chain reaching over at the lower cabinet of the desk, peeling off the malleable metal off the lock on purpose. The chain pulled out a bottle of bourbon and the ghost whistled in approval. "How long have you've been hiding this, Plasmius? What a beaut." He grinned, already opening the cap and taking down the amber liquid. The alcohol won't affect him in ghost form, but the soft burn in his throat is too satisfying for him to care.  
"Also, at least let me have a drink before I do cause more damage. Have to set the nerves off right you know."

  
  
Vlad growled as he tried taking the bourbon from the villain, only for a fast reflex from the shadow ghost and being struck at the torso with a metal heel. The older halfa fell back against the wall, knocking down some paintings as Poltergeist practically downed all the liquor. He set the now empty bottle on the table, wiping the remaining drops off his lips and smirking.

  
  
"Well...I had my drink, **Plasmius**. I won't be paying back though, so I suggest next time you stock up."

  
  
His taunts echoed in Vlad's ear, the older man gritting his teeth and finally feeling the tug of his core. Rings of gold light washed over the mayor, now leaving the Spirit of Amity, Plasmius in his place.

  
  
"I don't want to fight you, Daniel. I want you to leave!" Plasmius growled, his gloves seething out the magenta glow of his power. He slowly got up from his position, a stance ready for combat.  
  
Poltergeist gave out a sigh, the chains slowly disappearing. "Sorry there, Plasmius can't do. I have to cause some sort of chaos of my own. It's nothing personal...oh wait-" his expression twisted in a bitter glare, the ghost baring his teeth at the hero. _"-It is..."_  
  
The flames of the room were brightening, but now with the presence of a true fire core, the green radiance reverted back to its sunlight glow. Plasmius glared at Poltergeist with crimson eyes, the gold tint being more prominent than usual.

  
  
"This town already suffered enough this week, and I'm not going to let you continue their suffering."  
  
Poltergeist laughed at his banter.

  
  
"Ohh, playing hero now are we?"  
  
Sinister black with green glows were shown, the ecto blasts ready at the shadow ghost's clenched fists.

  
  
"Yes, I am actually, because _**someone**_ didn't deserve that title anymore."

  
  
Plasmius knew that crossed the line, and he had regrets from saying that. He saw pure hatred in the other ghost's eyes the minute those slit pupils contracted more.  
  
A snarl was the first thing he heard before their battle was commenced yet again.


End file.
